Training (Part 2)

The intelligence of a level-nine magical beast was already no different from that of an adult human. Some exceptionally gifted magical beasts were even more cunning than humans.

After hearing Leian's words, the shadow lurking in the darkness finally pushed through the layers of branches and revealed itself atop a nearby treetop.

It was a magical beast that looked remarkably like a house cat. As expected, it was not large—excluding its tail, its body was less than a meter long. Its long, fluffy black fur made it appear somewhat bloated.

"A level-nine magical beast, a Phantom Magic Monkey!"

Leian's eyes lit up. This is the one!

At first glance, the creature was nothing more than a black cat. Its round little head was even more adorable than a cat's. Anyone unfamiliar with it would never know that it was a powerful magical beast skilled in concealment and possessed of incredible speed.

The Phantom Magic Monkey did not know what Leian was thinking, but Leian's gaze made it extremely displeased. It had toyed with human level-nine warriors before.

Whoosh!

Without any warning, the Phantom Magic Monkey launched its attack. In the blink of an eye, it crossed dozens of meters and arrived before Leian. Its tiny, sharp claws clawed at his neck like iron hooks.

"Hm?"

Leian was startled. Though he had already overestimated the Phantom Magic Monkey's speed, only when facing it directly did he realize how terrifying it truly was.

There was no time to draw his sword. Leian could only flood his arm with Destruction Battle Qi and throw a punch.

It was merely an ordinary punch, with no power of heaven and earth drawn into it. From what he remembered, the Phantom Magic Monkey's defenses did not seem particularly strong. He feared that if he seriously injured it with one punch and frightened it into fleeing, things would become troublesome.

In midair, the Phantom Magic Monkey whipped its tail at high speed and forcibly shifted its body at the final moment, causing Leian's fist to brush past its forehead.

At the same time, its tiny hooked claws swept across Leian's arm. The Battle Qi shield on the surface instantly shattered, and three bloody marks appeared on his forearm.

The instant pain struck, Leian drove his elbow down hard at it.

But the Phantom Magic Monkey reacted swiftly. After failing its strike, it immediately whipped its tail, sending its body plummeting and causing Leian's elbow strike to miss.

The moment it landed, it pushed off with all four limbs and turned into a black shadow, leaping toward a tree trunk to the side. The instant it touched the trunk, its limbs exerted force again, launching it behind Leian.

Its retreat and advance came in the blink of an eye, so fast that no one could react in time.

But Leian was vastly experienced. The moment he caught the black shadow's trajectory from the corner of his eye, he guessed its intention and immediately spun around with a swinging punch.

However, the Phantom Magic Monkey was no simple creature either. The instant Leian moved, it whipped its tail again in midair and changed direction. It evaded his fist while swiftly widening the distance, giving Leian no chance to attack again.

"Not bad, not bad!"

Seeing this, Leian could not help admiring the Phantom Magic Monkey's caution. Of course, its speed also gave him quite a headache.

Though the Phantom Magic Monkey had not gained much of an advantage in speed, one had to remember that Leian had fused with a level-nine magic crystal core. Whether in speed, strength, or defense, he far surpassed an ordinary level-nine warrior.

Yet even so, he could only barely defend himself.

The Phantom Magic Monkey seemed to have sensed Leian's strength. It no longer attacked rashly, but neither did it stop moving. It began circling Leian nonstop, seemingly searching for an opportunity.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

It was incredibly fast, as though it were constantly blinking through space. While moving, its form could not be seen clearly at all; only when it used something for leverage could one glimpse a streak of black.

Naturally, Leian could not turn around with it. By now, he had completely merged his mind with heaven, earth, and nature. His mind was like a mirror, reflecting everything within several meters around him.

This was a further application of the power of heaven and earth after he comprehended the realm of "momentum." This level of control made him exceptionally sensitive to changes around him. Whenever the Phantom Magic Monkey showed any intent to attack, he could detect it immediately.

The Phantom Magic Monkey was an assassin that excelled at ambushes. With its intelligence, if it could not find an opening, it would never attack carelessly.

Thus, the two sides seemed to have reached a stalemate.

But this could not continue forever. Leian worried that if too much time passed, the creature would lose patience and choose to retreat—or pretend to leave while secretly following him, dragging things into a prolonged battle.

Thinking of this, he sighed inwardly. It seemed he had no choice but to use that move.

The instant the thought flashed through his mind, purple-black scales began emerging over his body. His limbs swiftly transformed into dragon claws, and dragon horns grew from his forehead.

Such an astonishing transformation naturally drew the Phantom Magic Monkey's vigilance. Its figure even paused for an instant.

"A good chance!"

At the instant the Phantom Magic Monkey hesitated, Leian kicked off with both feet and pounced like lightning. After transforming into a magical beast, his speed and strength increased once more. As he moved, he was no slower than the Phantom Magic Monkey.

This sudden change far exceeded the Phantom Magic Monkey's expectations. Its figure flashed as it rapidly retreated into the distance.

But since Leian had used his magical beast transformation ability, how could he let it go? He immediately pursued it closely.

One chased while the other fled, the two of them like black phantoms flashing rapidly through the silent forest.

After pursuing it for some distance, Leian sensed the trouble. His body was much larger than the Phantom Magic Monkey's, and within the densely wooded forest, he was nowhere near as agile as it was. If this continued, it would likely shake him off by taking advantage of the terrain.

With that thought, Leian flipped his palm, and a fist-sized magic crystal suddenly appeared in his hand.

He squeezed hard, shattering the magic crystal into marble-sized pieces. Then he swung his arm rapidly, firing the fragments one after another as hidden weapons.

He had casually picked up these magic crystals while training in the mountain range. There were not many of them, and they were not valuable, but he had never expected them to prove crucial at this moment.

The Phantom Magic Monkey was already fleeing at full speed. After barely dodging several stones, it finally failed to avoid one and was struck on the hind leg.

Although such a stone was far less hard than its bones, the tremendous force still caused it a burst of pain, and its speed involuntarily slowed.

Seizing the chance, Leian reached out and firmly grabbed the Phantom Magic Monkey by the neck. Then he swung it hard and smashed it viciously into the ground.

Bang!

With a muffled crash, the ground immediately caved in. The Phantom Magic Monkey's defense had never been high to begin with, and after being smashed like that, it became somewhat dazed.

However, Leian had no intention of letting it off. He clearly remembered that the first requirement for subduing a magical beast was to beat it into wholehearted submission.

So the instant he landed, his hands did not stop. He gave the Phantom Magic Monkey a brutal beating.

Of course, he controlled his strength, ensuring that it suffered mostly pain rather than serious injury.

After the vicious beating, Leian looked down at it and said coldly, "Magic Monkey, with your intelligence, you can definitely understand human speech. Submit, or die!"

Originally, Leian had thought that since he had not completely overwhelmed it in speed, subduing it would be troublesome. Yet the moment his words fell, it let out aggrieved, sorrowful whimpers.

There was even a trace of grievance in its cries.

This left Leian feeling a little embarrassed. Still, he did not forget to take out the Master-Servant Contract Scroll from his ring.

As he poured a strand of Destruction Battle Qi into the scroll, the brown-black scroll immediately burst into flames. Then, a nearly transparent pentagonal magical pattern rose from the fire.

Afterward, the magic formation flew directly toward the Phantom Magic Monkey's head. The Phantom Magic Monkey did not resist, allowing the magical pattern to merge into its mind.

In an instant, both Leian and the Phantom Magic Monkey felt the connection between their souls.

Because the magical pattern had been formed from Leian's Battle Qi and spiritual power, once the Phantom Magic Monkey accepted it, it came completely under Leian's control.

"Do you have a name? What is it?" Leian sent the question directly through their soul connection.

"Selina!"

The Phantom Magic Monkey slowly climbed to its feet and shook the dead leaves from its body. Its slightly aggrieved voice sounded in Leian's mind, and it still seemed somewhat unconvinced.

Leian found the sight rather amusing. Just as he was about to have a proper chat with it, a tremendous boom suddenly sounded in the distance, interrupting his thoughts.

The sound carried immense power, and Leian immediately had a guess. He leaped into the air and flashed several times before arriving atop the tree canopy.

Boom!

At that moment, another tremendous boom rang out. Leian's heart jolted as he realized the sound had come from the core region.

"Could it really be Saint Realm magical beasts fighting?"

However, the thought had barely crossed his mind when an angry roar came from the distance again.

"Margaret, have you had enough?"